


Dueling Wizards

by Lunadeath02



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Blood, Gen, Magic Revealed, Mating, Minor Violence, Other, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-26
Updated: 2013-03-26
Packaged: 2017-12-06 14:44:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/736849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunadeath02/pseuds/Lunadeath02
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin's given a choice: either watch his future king get killed or battle a witch in a Wizard's Duel and have Arthur discover his secret.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dueling Wizards

**Author's Note:**

> This fic idea was partially the fault of my muse, plus Disney's Sword in the Stone. I hadn't got to the slash that I wanted, but one could say that this leads up to it. ALSO, I've given a little nod to Colin Morgan at the end (those that don't know what I mean can ask in comments, I don't wish to give anything away here in the notes).  
> I do not know if this counts as a x-over; Madam Mim is either the younger version of her, or just a different take on her character. She could be thought of as an original character too.

"You astound me sometimes, Merlin," Arthur said, voice tense. "Your idiocy really knows no bounds. How could you not understand that when I put a finger to my lips it means that you do not talk whatsoever?"

"I said I was sorry," Merlin said with a sigh.

"Sorry doesn't help me get the deer, does it? Honestly, I think something's wrong with you, Merlin. You really do have some sort of mental defect, don't you?"

They'd been out hunting for the good part of the morning, Arthur having dragged Merlin with because it was easier to carry a stag's carcass through the woods with two. Things didn't go as planned, however; the thirty-point buck that Arthur had spotted got away all thanks to his imbecilic manservant, and now all they were carrying back were a few hares, three pheasants, and one wild boar. Granted, the boar was pretty huge, but the whole point to the hunt was to get a deer. Venison was a favorite of his as well as his father's, so of course they were both looking forward to having that tonight. Now, thanks to Merlin, they won't and he wouldn't be one bit surprised if his father ordered Merlin into the stocks for a week.

"It really wasn't my fault, though," Merlin tried arguing. "That skunk came out of nowhere!"

"What you could have done," Arthur said through gritted teeth, "was use my hunting knife to kill it before it decided to try spraying, but no! Instead, you shrieked like a girl, scared the deer away, and got the skunk so startled that it sprayed us both!"

"One," Merlin continued his inane argument, "I had no idea you had a knife on you, or where it is even located on your person, and two: I doubt it would make any difference if I did kill it. I'm sure it would stink so bad that it would alert the deer anyway."

"Do you like being in the stocks?" Arthur snarled, tired of his servant's lip. "Because if you do, you might end up there permanently if you don't shut up!"

Merlin was about to stick out his tongue at his prince, when Arthur suddenly stopped his horse and so Merlin automatically stopped his as well. He looked in front of them and noticed why: there was a woman—a very beautiful woman—standing in the middle of the road, a hand outstretched with palm facing them to halt them.

"Prince Arthur?" she asked, keeping her hand in the air.

"Yes, that's me," said Arthur. "Who are you? What do you want of me?"

The woman smiled, slow and sweet and almost sinister. "You will find out soon enough," then her smile turned into a twisted grin as a bright, orange light shot out of her palm and straight at Arthur.

"No!" Merlin shouted, the horses neighing loudly as they got spooked. "Arthur!"

Arthur rose into the air, straight off his horse, and he tried to struggle free but couldn't move a muscle. Only his eyes and mouth worked.

"You witch!" he snarled. "Let me go this instant."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, young prince," she grinned wickedly.

"Don't hurt him," Merlin begged. "Please, take me instead!"

"Don't worry your cute little head about the prince," said the sorceress, and then her eyes turned to look at him. "Emrys. It's you I want."

Merlin swallowed, the feeling of impending doom settling in his stomach.

"What do you want of me?" he asked the same time Arthur murmured, "Emrys?" in a confused way.

"I've been bored for a while," the witch said instead of answering Merlin right away. "And when I realized that you were in this part of the forest I decided to have a little fun. Also, I'm just a little bit curious about you, Emrys. I want to see if the rumors about you are true. If you really are as powerful as they say."

"Who are you?" Merlin asked, suddenly feeling cold all over. He didn't dare look at Arthur to see what his reaction was to all of this.

For a second, she didn't seem as if she wished to tell him; she just smiled mysteriously, but then she gave him a tiny bow and said, "Just call me… Madam Mim. The way I look now is just a disguise; I can take on any shape or form, be it animal, insect, or human. I know that if I challenged you without any kind of wager then you'd just blow me off as a raving witch and not even indulge in my curiosity. With your precious prince's life on the line then I'm guaranteed to get what I want."

Merlin swallowed thickly again, but kept his eyes on her, still afraid of what Arthur's reaction to all this was. Arthur was eerily quiet during this, and it made Merlin wonder if he was in too much shock to really say anything right now.

"What is it that you want, then?" Merlin had no choice but to ask.

Madam Mim's grin grew, eyes glittering, and he knew then that whatever it was she was about to say wasn't going to be good. He wouldn't be able to fob any of this off as just a bad dream that Arthur was having; Arthur was stuck in her spell, and he was sure that there was no way Arthur was going to pass out any time soon.

"I want," Mim said softly, but her voice was still carrying around them in the eerily quiet of the forest, "a Wizard's Duel."

Merlin was too shocked to speak right away, but before he could answer her, Arthur had laughed loudly, getting them both to turn their heads in his direction.

"You're insane!" Arthur said. "Merlin's no wizard, nor is he a sorcerer of any kind. I think, perhaps, you may have the wrong person. You're looking for this Emrys to fight, yes? Well, Merlin here is my manservant, and his name is definitely not Emrys, so you can just let us go and be on your merry way before the king's knights come looking for us."

Madam Mim didn't reply immediately. She stared at Arthur as if he were some innocent, naïve child, and then laughed.

"You are not that simple-minded, Arthur Pendragon, surely!" she chortled. "Has Emrys—Merlin—been fooling you all this time? And here I thought you were this supposedly great future king. I guess your manservant is a lot more clever than you first thought, eh?" her eyes trained back to Merlin. "Now, will you accept my challenge, or would you like to watch your prince charming die a slow and painful death?"

Then she flexed her hand as if she was squeezing something really hard, and Arthur began choking.

"Stop!" Merlin demanded, fury and dread welling up within him. "Don't hurt him! I'll—I'll do it. I'll do as you ask."

Madam Mim stopped, letting her hand drop. Arthur sucked in a breath as if he'd been drowning, but he stayed floating in the air. Arthur's horse was staying where it stood, confused as to where its master was, but ever the obedient horse it stayed still.

"Good decision, Merlin," said Madam Mim, opting to call him by his biological name. "You're such a good manservant, to sacrifice yourself for your dear prince."

"Merlin, no!" Arthur shouted, still panting. "Don't do it… there's no way you're able to beat that witch!"

Merlin jumped, surprisingly well, off his horse and took a few steps forward. "And here I thought you'd have more faith in me than that, Arthur," he quipped, and then looked up at his prince.

Arthur stared down at him, his eyes showing mostly worry and fear, but Merlin wasn't sure if the fear was for him or of him. This wasn't the way he'd hoped Arthur would find out about his magic, but he couldn't do anything about it at the moment. It was either fight or watch Arthur be killed.

"Merlin, surely you're not… you can't be a—a sorcerer?"

"Arthur, I—" Merlin begun, then paused, trying to find the right words. "I'm—I'm sorry, Arthur, but it's true. I never meant to mislead you, but you know why I had to."

Although he couldn't even move his eyebrows, Merlin could still tell that Arthur was very surprised by this new information. "No, Merlin, you must be joking… I mean, really… you? A sorcerer? But you're so clumsy and… and…"

"Good?" Merlin supplied, smiling softly even though he felt a little irritated by being painted with the same brush as those misusing their magical powers. "Benevolent? Thoughtful? Brave of heart?"

Arthur's mouth pressed into a thin line as his mind and heart struggled. "But… sorcerers are evil, deceitful, backstabbing liars and murderers." He sounded confused.

"I have never done anything to hurt you, Arthur," Merlin said as sincerely as possible. "I swear. Not on purpose, anyway. I've saved your life many times with my magic, and I'm about to do so again. I might not survive this time, though, so I hope that you won't hate me after I'm dead."

"Don't talk like that, Merlin," Arthur's voice was angry. "I don't—I don't hate you, not really. I'm annoyed, and maybe a little angry and hurt, but I don't hate you. And I don't… I want…" Arthur paused for a moment, and Merlin could almost see the thoughts sparking behind those blue eyes. "Please don't get yourself killed. If you're as powerful as that witch says you are, then please… use whatever is necessary to win. Decent servants—and magicians—are hard to come by these days."

Merlin nodded, smiling softly in relief to Arthur's words. "I will do my best, for you, Arthur."

He then turned to face Madam Mim again.

"Are you two done kissing and making up now?" she said, sounding very impatient. "I want to get on with this."

Merlin stepped forward. "So, what exactly is a Wizard's Duel? What are the rules?"

"There are two ways that we can duel," she said, sounding pleased and not at all annoyed by Merlin's question. "First kind is an all out battle, no holds barred, where we'd throw whatever we can think of at each other. The second kind is one where we transform into different kinds of animals in order to try destroying one another."

"And we're doing that first kind, right?" Merlin asked, hoping it to be true because he hadn't had enough time to learn how to transform into many animals. He'd learned only a few just two weeks ago, but he hadn't had the time to do more than that.

Madam Mim grinned. "I'm so sorry, Merlin, but if we do the first type of wizard's duel then your precious prince might get caught in the crossfire. Besides, it wouldn't be much of a fair fight that way, from what I've heard you did to Nimueh."

"But the transforming into animals isn't fair to me!" Merlin protested. "I haven't had the chance to learn much about becoming animals."

Her smile became more wide and insidious. "I know."

Merlin was seething, but he knew that there wasn't much to could do about it. Madam Mim was right; Arthur was vulnerable to any attacks they would throw at each other, and he could accidentally mortally wound Arthur. He would just have to remember to be careful when it came to becoming the animals that he had learned, and hopefully his powers would aid him in figuring out how to transform into other kinds of animals.

"You see, Merlin?" said Arthur suddenly. "Magic corrupts. She doesn't understand a thing about fair play."

"It isn't magic that corrupts," Merlin spoke up, his chest tightening in something like anger, but he was keeping his heated gaze pointed toward Mim. "It's power, Arthur. Power corrupts, and apparently so can boredom. You know," he said to Madam Mim, "you could find better ways to entertain yourself if you're bored. Like, say, helping those less fortunate? Or maybe having some innocent fun with your magic, like shaping smoke or sparks of fire into animals?"

"Oh, but, Merlin," Madam Mim drawled. "Tormenting you and the young prince is so much more fun! So, let's get on with it. Unless you really would like to watch Prince Arthur choke to death?"

Merlin scowled. "Fine, but it's your own fault if I kill you."

* * * * * * * * * * *

"Merlin!" Arthur shouted, the forest still oddly silent so the prince's voice carried well. "What the hell were you thinking? Wait, look who I'm talking to."

He honestly had no idea what he'd been thinking; apparently the first thing that came to mind, of course, but it had been the first thing he'd learned when reading about animal transformations. Now he was scurrying about for cover, dodging the sharp talons at his back that tried to pierce him. He found a hollowed log a few feet away from the prince's horse and ducked inside. The owl—Madam Mim—screeched as her claws missed their mark. Merlin's little heart was beating frantically as he panted, and he tried to think fast as he caught his breath. What exactly would work best against an owl? Not many animals he knew of preyed on owls. Maybe if he imagined some kind of larger bird of prey that might just work. Trouble was he wasn't sure if he was able to transform into a bird. He hadn't learned that spell yet.

He didn't have as much time to think as the sound of a rattle was heard, and his little mouse heart started to beat frantically again. He knew that sound, and he quickly ran to the other side of the log to get away. He vaguely heard Arthur shouting at him to look out.

The Mim rattle snake was slithering inside the log behind him, and he had just enough time to climb up the side and race across the top as his mind worked frantically. Something bigger, he thought desperately, please let me become something bigger!

His magic seemed to be in good tune with his body (quite possibly it was a defense mechanism?) and he was suddenly much bigger, and sleeker. He scampered over to the side of the log and waited, and when the she-snake came slithering out looking for him, he pounced.

He really had no idea he knew how to turn himself into a mongoose.

The sounds of shrieking and hissing filled the air as they fought. Merlin was close to clamping his jaws over Mim's scaly neck, but before he could deliver a killing blow, she transformed. Merlin squeaked in surprise and ran, as Mim had now become a rather large bobcat.

"Don't just run away, Merlin!" Arthur shouted, apparently now his coach on the sidelines. "Hurry and think of something!"

There wasn't anything he could think of at the moment that could take care of a large, wild cat. He had to use his knowledge and wits to outdo Mim's choice of animal. If he couldn't come up with something that usually hunted a bobcat, then he'd have to just overpower it.

Ah! Idea!

He concentrated like he had when he turned himself into a mongoose and thought hard on his animal of choice, picturing it in his mind best he could. Then, suddenly, the sky was closer, and Mim the Bobcat—whom had been right on his tail—cried out in shock and halted in her tracks.

Merlin abruptly turned around, the ground shaking beneath his feet, and lifted his long, gray nose into the air and trumpeted; his large, white tusks gleaming dangerously in the sunlight. Madam Mim quickly ran as Merlin charged, head bowed and tusks aimed right at her behind.

"Yes!" Arthur was crowing in the background. "Gut her, Merlin! Run her through!"

Merlin wasn't sure if he should be amused by Arthur's cheering or embarrassed.

But before he could pin her to a tree, she had transformed again, this time into a tiny bird. The bird flew around his head, chirping angrily, before settling down on Merlin's big, round rump. Merlin tried to swat the bird away with his tail, but the Mim-bird kept fluttering out of the way, and then began pecking at his back with her sharp beak. It actually hurt!

He heard Arthur groaning in frustration, but he tried to ignore it as he thought about what animal to become that would benefit the situation. He thought fast, and the first thing that came to mind he ended up transfiguring into before he had a chance to think much on it. But it seemed to have worked, because the little bird stopped pecking at his back and flew up and out of the way of his swiping claws. He roared, mostly as a battle cry, and tried to leap up to snatch the bird out of the air, but tigers weren't meant to be too good of jumpers and he missed. He watched the bird circle above him, his cat eyes trained on every movement and tail twitching, but then the bird dove to the ground and was changing. Merlin backed up to prepare himself for whatever it was that Madam Mim decided to become this time.

She had become… a white tiger. Merlin paused at this, confused and wary of the move she had made. But then his nose easily detected a scent that could only mean that the baser animal instinct was still included with their animal bodies; Madam Mim wasn't just another female tiger, she was also in heat.

'Oh, no fair!' Merlin growled, as he fought off the urge to mate with her. He backed up as she moved forward, sleek and sexily, until his hind legs found the hollowed log behind him.

'What's the matter, Merlin?' he heard her say in his head. He didn't know they could talk to each other this way. Then again, they were now the same species, so maybe that was the reason.

'This is cheating!' Merlin hissed, and he really did hiss aloud to show his displeasure.

'It is perfectly legal,' she all but purred as she stepped closer.

"Merlin, what the hell are you waiting for?" Arthur shouted from above. "Strike her!"

But he couldn't. He wanted to, but he just couldn't. Then she turned around and presented her rear to him. It became even harder to resist. Before he knew what he was doing, he was strolling up and sniffing her.

"Merlin!" Arthur gasped, finally realizing what was going on. "Don't—this is no time to be thinking with your other head!"

But Merlin couldn't fight it. He found himself mounting her before he thought twice.

"Oh my God," Arthur bemoaned, the spell on him making it so he couldn't shut his eyes. "I do NOT want to watch this!"

But Arthur was spared from watching too much more. The moment when Merlin was at his most vulnerable (too busy doing his… thing) Mim had transformed again. Merlin quickly backed off in shock, and as Madam Mim turned she nearly thrust her large horn into his side. Merlin snarled and roared as he circled her, but she followed him with her horn as she tried to gut him.

A tiger was strong, but not strong enough to take on a rhinoceros. He had to think fast. As the Mim-rhino charged, Merlin decided to transform into the next animal he'd learned to become weeks ago, other than a mouse. Soon, Merlin was running and hopping out of the way, putting some space between them. His long hind legs pushed him forward, his nose twitching, and then he stopped short and turned to see what Mim was doing, standing on his hind legs. His rabbit ears twitched this way and that as he took in every little movement and sound, and when he realized that the rhino had disappeared he wondered just what Mim had transformed into this time.

Then a loud screech from above alerted him of the danger, and he ducked and ran quickly to the safety of the hollowed log. Mim had become a large hawk. She swooped, and her talons clipped at Merlin's cottontail, forcing him to roll on the ground from the impact. His little heart was beating madly as he quickly righted himself before the Mim-hawk could strike again. With a burst of speed, he made it to the safety of the log. The hawk's shadow loomed above, circling, while Merlin thought hard on what to do next.

Although exhausted, he couldn't help realize that he was extremely hungry, so he slowly hopped to one end of the log to where some long grass was poking in tantalizingly, and he gently nibbled at the end of one blade. Taking a quick rest (which he knew he couldn't afford, but he felt he needed to right now) as he chewed, his mind thought furiously on what he could do in order to win this wizard's duel. It wasn't just his life that was on the line; it was also Arthur's.

Then, sudden movement from the other end startled Merlin so much he leaped and banged his head on the top of the log. He peered down at the end of the hollowed log to see a pair of vicious, glowing eyes and a snarling snout full of sharp fangs. His rabbit instincts told him to run, but the human part of his mind told him to stay and think of what to do, because he was perfectly safe for now as long as he stayed in the log, if Madam Mim were to continue being a wolf.

Then the wolf's face was gone, and he could hear her coming over to his end. He hurried to stay in the middle of the log, and again her face appeared, this time at the end where he just was. Merlin's breath quickened and he began washing his long ears and whiskers nervously as he thought hard about what to do.

Suddenly, inspiration struck him. He recalled the hunt he and Arthur had had this morning, so he made like he was about to leave the log out of the other side, and as he had expected wolf-Mim went to meet him there. Right before she could stick her head inside the log again, Merlin transformed and then raised his tail at the opening.

The moment Mim stuck her snout into the log, Merlin sprayed.

Mim-wolf howled as if in pain and then whined while backing away quickly from the log.

"Good one, Merlin!" Arthur congratulated. Merlin slowly crawled out of the log, keeping his skunk tail raised in warning to the she-wolf.

But then Mim tried to strike him with her fangs, clearly angry and vengeful. Merlin squeaked and backpedaled as fast as he could, and right as Mim got her jaws onto his back (those teeth really hurt!) his instincts, and magic, made him change. The instant change was surprising to both, but none more surprising to Mim, who howled in even more pain as Merlin's porcupine quills stabbed her straight through the snout from the inside of her mouth. She was in such pain, rolling around on the ground, bleeding, that Merlin almost felt sorry for her. He was in such shock he almost missed the fact that Mim was transforming back into her human form. But once he realized it, Merlin transformed back also and went to her immediately. His back was aching from where she bit into him, but he ignored it for the moment.

The porcupine needles were still lodged into the roof of her mouth and through her nose, and she had tears streaming down her cheeks. She was looking up at him with hate, but he also saw a glimmer of fear. He didn't know what came over him, and even if someone were to ask he wasn't sure what it was, but he ended up using his magic to remove the sharp porcupine needles from her face, and then tried his best to heal her. He didn't know as much about healing spells as he should, but he did what he could. She stopped bleeding, and for that Merlin was glad. Although, she might have a right nasty scar on her face from now on.

He helped her to sit up slowly. She stared at him in confusion, as if she weren't sure if she should be angry for his help or grateful. After staring for a while, Madam Mim yanked her arm out of Merlin's grip and turned her head away.

"You sentimental fool," she whispered, voice shaky.

"Sorry?" he said.

"Why'd you save me?" she snapped at him, head whipping around and eyes blazing into his. "You had every right to finish me off then and there. That's the rule of the Wizard's Duel."

Merlin shrugged, as if he couldn't believe it himself. "I don't know… I guess I just hoped that maybe this would mean that I won, and that you'll let me and Arthur go in peace?"

She stared at him as if she couldn't believe her ears, and then she laughed. Merlin wasn't sure if he should laugh along with her, so he just ended up giving her a crooked smile.

Slowly, she stood from the ground, and Merlin followed. "You're really are something, aren't you, Merlin? I guess I had misjudged you."

Merlin didn't know what to say to that, so he just stared back at her.

"We'll call it a draw," Madam Mim finally said, but she sounded a little disappointed. "Next time you might not be so lucky, Merlin." Then, with a wave of her hand, Arthur was released from the spell and he landed straight back onto his horse, which neighed in annoyance.

"Thank you," Merlin said to Mim, and he meant it.

She wrinkled her nose at being thanked by the person who beat her (and he did, even if she was calling it a draw), but then smiled softly and gave Merlin a small kiss on the cheek.

"At least we'll always have our time together as tigers," she teased before stepping back. Merlin blushed at the memory of having mounted her. He knew Arthur wouldn't let him live that down.

Then, Madam Mim disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Merlin and Arthur slowly made their way back to Camelot. Arthur hadn't said much during their ride, and it was starting to worry Merlin. He knew Arthur would want to talk about it soon, most likely when they were in the privacy of Arthur's chambers.

"You never cease to surprise me, Merlin," Arthur finally said once the castle was now in sight.

"Is this a good thing or bad?" Merlin had to ask.

"I dunno," said Arthur good-naturedly. "That's still debatable."

Merlin rolled his eyes.

"But at least I know that you're not one of those sorcerers that is out for my blood."

"Course not," said Merlin. "I've been protecting your royal arse since I came to Camelot. It's not my fault your father decided to make me your manservant."

Arthur laughed heartily, head thrown back.

"Although, I do know one thing for sure," said Merlin after a while.

"What's that, Merlin?"

"I've gone completely off eating animals," Merlin's nose scrunched up. "The thought to me now is revolting."

Fin.


End file.
